Following the cancellation of the 2022 event, BlizzCon will be making an exciting return for 2023 as confirmed by new President of Blizzard Entertainment, Mike Ybarra.
Activision Blizzard has had a grim 16 months, since multiple lawsuits and workplace harassment allegations have haunted the company since 2021. BlizzCon was then subsequently scrapped for the 2022 year, following many lead figureheads at the company stepping down, even leading to the renaming of one strapped cowboy hero in Overwatch. On Wednesday, fans of the huge event have received favourable news, with Blizzard Entertainment President, Mike Ybarra spilling the beans on BlizzCon’s return for 2023.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Ybarra confronted many issues the company has faced after the lawsuits have come to a head. Ybarra said “We’re committed to changing our culture,” including the notion of resetting the bad energy by “We’re listening to our employees. I’ve always firmly believed that when there’s a good culture across teams, creative excellence flows. So I call our culture team ‘team zero.’” Continuing with the hard topics, Ybarra confronted the now infamous video of BlizzCon 2010 where Former President J. Allen Brack made a misogynistic quip after a real question was posed.
Ybarra’s response was one many shared: “It saddens me to see that video.” Focusing on the culture surrounding Blizzard, Ybarra also said “We needed, frankly, to serve our players with more content on a more frequent basis. When the phone rang, it gave me an opportunity to do that. How can I make an impact? How can the games and Blizzard as a company make an impact for the next 20 years like it has for me? That’s why I’m here.”
Then President Ybarra confirmed BlizzCon 2023 by announcing the plans moving forward. “We previously announced we’re taking a pause on BlizzCon while we reimagine it for the future but do want to return to a live event that enables us to celebrate the community,” with, ”We recently hired a new leader of BlizzCon, April McKee, who is hard at work on that plan…We are committed to bringing back BlizzCon in 2023,” so Blizzard Entertainment fans have a huge event to look forward to in 2023.
The whole interview can be found from the LA Times, and fans can flock to the Blizzard Entertainment website for more information as it drops.
